HRP Honda rider Karl Muggeridge took second place in the first race of round five of the IDM Superbike Championship at Salzburgring in Austria on the weekend, the Queenslander’s result good enough to maintain his series lead.

The ex-World Supersport Champion finished second behind pole setter Werner Daemen in race one, however a crash in race two ruled him out of contention for the round.

“We qualified fourth, which was pretty good,” he said. “For the first race I had a good start was second into the first corner then I moved to first very briefly before the BMW nearly pulled the stickers of my bike as he zoomed up the hill.

“I then did everything I could to stay with Werner on the BMW but I was unable to get back passed him unless he made a mistake. Two laps to go we had an eight-second gap from third, then I waved Werner good bye and cruised the last two laps to secure my second position. There’s not a lot of corners in Salzburgring and it was too high risk to continue to make back all the ground I lost on the straights.”

Commenting on his fall in the second race, Muggeridge said it was a simple low-side crash that caught him out.

“The second race started the same as the first but I was having a lot of trouble with my rear tyre,” he explained. “Just before starting lap four I low-sided, so I lost the back tyre but the bike continued all the way down on its side which is a little bizarre but I slid off and ended my day.

“Since being brought down in Sachsenring by Jorge Teuchert and having one of the most monumental crashes of my live, it’s been a hard couple of weeks and I’m so ready for the next three weeks off to recover.”

Fellow Aussie Gareth Jones finished with 8-9 results on his RT Motorsports Honda, while Victorian teammate Jed Metcher scored points with 17-11 results for the round.

In Supersport, Taree’s Damian Cudlin took a pair of second places behind Michael Ranseder at the Salzburgring, maintaining his series lead with just three rounds left to run.